Mission: Potato

I love potatoes and all carbs for that matter :) Although every time I buy a huge bag of potatoes it never fails, that before I use all the potatoes they go bad :( I hate when that happens. Yesterday Scott went to the grocery store for me since I was feeling under the weather. I asked him to pick up a bag of potatoes for me, he refused. So I made a bet with him that if he got me the bag of potatoes that I would NOT let them go bad and would find cool new things/recipes for the potatoes. So he did end up buying them for me. Now the fun begins, I need to think of different potato recipes, I always do mashed, baked, etc. It's on!!! I will not lose this bet!!!

Any ideas??

Tuesday=Tired

I'm so glad that I wasn't as tired as I was yesterday. I don't get it but I could barely keep my eyes open yesterday. Ugh. I got home last night and barely had the effort to let the dogs out (no worries I did). I plopped myself down on the couch and was out for the count. Apparently I needed a nap. Bigtime.

Today was better (tired wise) anyway but the emotional drainage from work has yet to settle down. I found out today that one of my patients who we saw in March died at the age of 29 of esophageal cancer. It was heartbreaking, so was the day in March when we diagnosed her. I don't know why all this is happening lately but It's definitely a wave that just doesn't seem to want to end. I just have to keep thinking to myself to live each day and learn from the events around me.

I made an AWESOME dinner tonight and it's one that I will definitely will be making again. Yum yum yum!!! My sister-in-law, niece and nephew are stopping by in a little bit. My sister-in-law got 2 awesome cigars for Scott, and they haven't seen the house and all that we've done to it for a little while. Anyway off to clean and straighten up and await the cute little faces that should be appearing at my door in about 20 minutes.

Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole

I decided to give my breakfast casserole a whirl in the crock pot. It turned out AMAZING!!!! And so easy, I turned it on low at 11pm last night, and when I got up this morning I turned it off around 9, and it was perfect! Here's how I did it

16 oz. of hashbrown potatoes
1 lb sausage ( I did about 12 links) cooked and chopped
8 pieces bacon (that's what I had leftover) cooked and crumbled
12 eggs ( I had only 9 and it was perfect)
1 cup milk
salt and pepper (about Tsp. each) more to taste if needed
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Spray crock pot with no-stick spray
Put hashbrowns on bottom
layer cheese, sausage, and bacon with final layer as cheese on top
Mix eggs and milk, salt and pepper, then pour over all ingredients in crock pot.
Turn on Low for about 8-10 hours.
And when you wake up breakfast is served! :) Yummy!

Fabulous Fajitas

One of my favorite things to do is cook. I absolutely love it. If I wasn't an RN I'd consider being a chef. Anyway I like to try a couple new recipes a week if possible. Although around here recently things have been so insane that I really haven't had much kitchen time. Tonight I was feeling rather blah from the obstruction since I'm still a little uncomfortable, so I thought that cooking would cheer me up and it did. Scott and I love fajitas so so much and usually he makes them. Tonight I decided to make them totally from scratch. Usually we cheat and use McCormick's awesome fajita marinade. Here's what I did:

2 lbs. steak sliced thin
1/2 cup of beef broth
1 green pepper
1 TB. butter
drizzle of EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1 Tsp. sea salt and pepper
1 TB cumin
1 Tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 lime zested and juiced
2 cloves of fresh garlic minced
Flour tortillas
Toppings: Shredded cheese, sour cream, etc.

Combine steak, broth, salt, pepper, cumin, old bay, lime zest, lime juice, and garlic in bag. Shake around to make sure all ingredients are mixed well and meat is covered. Refrigerate at least two hours.

Cut up green pepper
Sautee in pan with the TB of butter and EVOO until tender.
Add meat and marinade mixture
Cook until meat is at your preference.

Serve meat mixture on a warmed tortilla and top with your favorite toppings.

Result: We LOVED them!!! Definitely will make again. I think Scott was secretly sad because I stole his thunder and made them from scratch and they may even be better then our packet mixture that we've used for years.

Great to serve with Spanish rice, or chips and salsa.

Note: Fajitas can give off a lot of juice and get kind of runny. I took a little of the fajita juice and some corn starch to thicken the marinade mixture in the pan. It was awesome! Enjoy :)